Stealing Spree

The President of the Game Club and his girlfriend were taken aback when I told them that Itou hated my guts. They didn’t expect that. They seemed prepared for when they would run into me but it was easily written off by that.

Although I was a little interested in what was really happening, I wasn’t compelled to just agree to what they were asking of me.

I only visited their club once at the invitation of Hashimoto from our class. And most likely they’re referring and basing my relationship with Itou on what they witnessed inside their clubroom and perhaps, what Miura-senpai just mentioned; Itou always mentioning my name.

Obviously, I was clueless as to the context of that occurrence. Is she mentioning my name in passing? Is she singing praises of me? Or maybe she’s cursing using my name whenever something was going wrong.

Uh. Let’s scratch that last one.

Because if that’s the case, these two wouldn’t approach me.

Still, that’s just my assumption.

Based on my own knowledge and my interactions with her, the girl really hated my guts but beneath it was the initial interest she had towards me.

I mean, it wouldn’t take a genius to understand why Itou asked me to hold her hand when we’re on that bus during my date with Himeko.

In any case, this returned me to what I wanted to know.

What’s wrong with her that the seniors from her club went and asked me to visit again?

They mentioned all the first years and new members lost the motivation but that’s probably just padding to their main point; Itou’s state.

Soon enough, Miura-senpai recovered first and mentioned things that were within my guess. To them, I seemed to be the only guy close enough to Itou on speaking terms.

From my observation of the girl before, Itou was using that club to unwind from her busy life as the apparent heir for their family business. Playing absurd games or just games in general was enough to uplift her mood.

But according to Miura-senpai, Itou, nowadays, was not as enthusiastic as before. And today, the girl only sat down on one corner, her mind wandering off to who knows where. Furthermore, she kept on sighing and frowning as though she was lamenting over something she was powerless to accomplish or solve.

When they approached her, the girl just shook her head and once again muttered my name.

I once again asked for its context but the couple only shook their heads. I also asked why they were concerned and the answer they came up with was kinda understandable; most of the first years who joined their club were there because of Itou. It’s like she’s the light-bearer that’s illuminating their surroundings. If she’s not in her best mood, the others are the same.

That’s kinda unsettling but hey, to each their own. Besides, I couldn’t care less about those first-year members of their club. On the same note, it’s understandable why these seniors wanted to solve that.

If I had to guess, inviting me wasn’t the only idea that popped up in their minds, it just so happened that they ran into me today.

In the end, I didn’t say yes to their invitation. And the two also had to continue on their way home. They left the parting words; ‘Our club is always open to you, Onoda-kun’.

Well, I put that at the back of my mind soon enough as I went to the Book Club to pick up Haruko and the others.

I already received a message from Rae and Kana that they’ll be walking along with Ishida-senpai and Otsuka-senpai part of the way. As for Satsuki, they extended their practice for half an hour. She also told me not to worry quickly since she’d be riding the bus with the other members of the club. Eguchi-sensei would even treat them to an energizing meal.

“You look like you’re moving constantly again, Ruki. At least wipe your sweat off.”

Those were Haruko’s first words upon seeing me arrive. She stood up from her seat and approached me with a towel on her hand – possibly prepared beforehand. She wiped off my forehead and neck which were slightly riddled with sweat before fixing my slightly creased uniform.

Although I wouldn’t say that this was new, it’s been a while since this girl acted like this. It’s her quirk when she’s about to have her period… I also experienced this from her last month but I was the same busy guy, leading to little time spent with her. Moreover, it was timed during the weekdays, not during the weekend where she stayed overnight.

“Thank you, Haruko.” I pulled her in my embrace. “You know me too well, you even predicted this.”

“This is par for the course. Don’t you think so?”

“Maybe, but preparing a towel specifically for this? You went the extra mile.”

“I’m going to be your wife. Think of this as training.” The girl smiled with unnatural enthusiasm before slipping out of my embrace. She then circled around me, checking if she missed something.

Yep… This is her quirk at work. Although not as intense as Akane’s quirk, Haruko who would often take a seat at the back would be this more proactive in showing her affection.

This was the same as back during middle school. There was one time during a meeting in a Student Council, as the President, it’s not her job to brew tea or be too accommodating. But she still did so for me… Of course, to not make his ex notice anything unusual with her behavior, she also poured a cup for him as well as the other members of the Student Council. However, I became her first priority.

Later that day, Haruko apologized to me for doing that, fearing that I would fault her for almost exposing our connection.

Well, I was still the idiot bastard back then and I could vaguely remember that I just shrugged at her apology before pushing her down… to satisfy my desire.

That quirk hadn’t changed even if the way she carried herself in the present was already different than before. In any case, whatever change she exhibits, she’s still my Haruko.

One thing I really want to see is for her to stop being too considerate of the other girls. Even before Akane accepted and started giving consideration to the other girls, this girl was already doing it.

Obviously, that’s still a long way to go. There’s still Yuika and Minori-senpai who were solely depending on her. No matter what anyone thinks, she’s not as heartless as the old me to just throw away the relationship she built because I returned to her life. And that’s one of the things I genuinely admire regarding Haruko.

Our relationships are twisted, to begin with, letting me try and make those girls she bonded with fall in love with me is just an additional twist. I somehow succeeded in three, it’s not wrong to assume that I will also succeed in the last two.

But like I said before, it’s a lot better to make it happen naturally than force it. They watched Himeko, Mina and Edel lean on me bit by bit and eventually accept me in their life… For all I know, those two were already scared of me.

“Alright, you win today. Let’s go and pick them up, it’s getting dark.” I stopped her from circling by pulling her in another embrace, this time, tighter than before. Once she’s settled down, I shifted my gaze to the girl giggling at us from a distance, “You too, Aya.. Let’s go home.”